Hinged butt joint



Dec. 20, 1960 A. A. RIZZUTO HINGED BUTT JOINT Filed Feb. 19, 1959 FIG 44 Q a O Q Q 5 Q Q #3 I a I F 7 T n) FIG 3 L 2 5 I: I: i; Fir in 3. I: I: "E! E .1 0 343 :2: ll 11/ :54 nw hu J Z I Fla 8 I 2,965,399 IIINGED BIJTT' JOINT Angelo A. Rizzuto, Box 32'5 ,1General Post Office, 1 New York, NY,

Filed Feb. 19, 1959, se m. 794,465 r H '1 ciaims. ci.,zs7l--j-99 j This invention relates to improvements in butt joints for flanged structural members such as .I beams, T beams,

2,965,399 Patented Dec. 2Q, 1950 'ice 1 and 2 having upper and lower flanges: and aweb por;

tion suchas I beams which are disposed 'in alignment and connected by a hinge 19, an elongated slotted plate 4, a pronged locking pin 9, and two pairs of angle bars- 12. The. web portion 3 of one structural member 1 is provided with a pairof: diametrically positioned .lugs 6 and the web portion 3 of the other structural member 2 is provided with a closed :diametrically. positioned longitudinal slot 7 and perforations at each end of the slot 7 in a spaced relation thereto. Attached tothe upper and lower flanges of both structural members 1 and 2 are angle bars 12.,whichserve as retaining as well as guiding and channel irons, and more particularly to an improvement in a fish joint construction wherein structural membersare hingedly connected and thereby permit the use of a slidable fishplate, and this application further relates to my copending application, Serial No. 661,644, filed May 27, 1957.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and practical means whereby hingedly connected structural members may be butt-jointed or folded as desired or required.

Another object is to provide a simple manually-operated device which will butt-joint hingedly connected structural members without the use of or need for special tools or equipment.

A further object is to provide a simple and practical device which can be adapted to lock in extended position hingedly connected structural members each having a flat central web portion.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrating a butt joint formed by means of a slotted slidable plate which is retained securely in a fixed position by a pronged locking pin.

Fig. 2 is a side view of hingedly connected abutting structural members illustrating the modifications and guiding attachments required to render the invention operative.

Fig. 3 is a face view of the slotted plate which forms the butt joint.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the pronged locking pin which serves as a fastening means.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the illustration in Fig. 1 with the hinge and guiding attachments omitted to illustrate clearly the butt joint formed by the invention, the various parts of which are indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 6 is a side view of a pair of bolts provided with thumbscrews which may be substituted for lugs.

Fig. 7 is a side view of a double-shafted pin which is threaded and provided with thumbscrews and which may be susbstituted for the pronged locking pin.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the illustration in Fig. 1 showing how the butt joint is broken by a retraction of the slotted plate and the consequent folding of the structural members.

As seen in the drawing, the invention is an improved fishplate which is slidable and modified to serve substantially the same purpose as an ordinary fishplate without the permanent fastening means which the ordinary or conventional fishplate usually requires. By means of the invention, rigid hingedly connected structural members which are required to be maintained in alignment only temporarily, such as side rail sections of a foldable ladder, can be made useful whenever and wherever desired Without the need for any complicated and timeconsuming mechanical operations.

The invention consists of a pair of structural members members; The plate 4, as seen in.Fig.-3, has an open longitudinal slot 5 at one end and in the solid portion thereof is provided with'perforations113 and 14 one thereof being centrally positioned and the others being positioned in spaced relation thereto respectively. The locking pin 9 is provided with a head :8. having prongs 11 extending therefrom which are positioned in a spaced relation to the pin 9, and an end piece 10 which serves as a retaining means for the pin 9.

In operation, the plate 4 is slidably disposed on the web portion 3 of the structural members 1 and 2 and between the upper and lower angle bars 12 the plate 4 being secured against lateral displacement thereof and being guided in a reciprocal sliding movement by said bars 12. The perforations 13 and 14 in the plate 4 are adapted to register with the slot 7 and the perforations 15 in the web portion of the structural member 2 respectively. This is necessary to permit the pronged lock ing pin 9 to be fitted onto the plate 4 so that the pin 9 engages in the centrally formed perforation 13 in the plate 4 and also in the slot 7, and the prongs 11 engage in the perforations 14 in the plate and also in the perforations 15 when the pin 9 is in either an operative position, as in Fig. 1, or in an inoperative position, as in Fig. 8. The pin 9 is slidably disposed within the perforation 13 and the slot 7 permanently while the prongs 11 are slidably disposed within the perforations 14 permanently and are engageable in and slidably disposed in the perforations 15 only when the plate 4 is in one or the other of the positions referred to. The end piece 10 prevents a disengagement of the pin 9 from the plate 4 when the pin is retracted to permit the plate to assume one position or another. In an operative position the plate 4 is locked against any movement thereof by the pin 9 and maintains the structural members 1 and 2 rigidly in alignment by engaging the lugs 6 in the open slot 5 thereof.

If desired or required, headed bolts 16 provided with thumbscrews 17 may be substituted for the lugs 6 and a double-shafted pin 18 also provided with thumbscrews 17 may be substituted for the pronged pin 9, in which case the perforations 14 and 15 would be useless and an additional perforation 13 in the plate 4 would be required to accommodate the extra pin shaft in the doubleshafted pin 18. Such a combination would serve to impart to the invention the function of the ordinary permanently attached fishplate without the disadvantage of requiring any time-consuming operation to obtain substantlally the same results. However, this combination obviously does not permit the use of the invention with the same speed as the preferred form. In any case, the invention in one form or another is complete within itself and does not require the use of tools or accessories of any sort.

Inasmuch as the invention illustrated and described herein is clearly capable of numerous modifications, it should be understood that changes may be made in the form and structural details of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as hereinafter claimed.

i What is claimed is: I Y a 1. A hinged butt joint construction comprising, in combination, first and second structural members each hawing a'c'eritra1 Web'fiortiofi with the central web porf' timr'of 'said' first: structural member containing a l'ongi' tudinal slot; a hinge connecting adjacent ends 'of said structural members,- a plate sl'id'ably attached to the web portion of said first structural member and having a slot entering the end" of said plate facing in the same direction" as the end of said first structural member; means projecting from'the w'b portion of said second stfuc'turalmefnber to engage theslot in said pmewnen ture in said plate, said pin; having an enlarged end piece,

said structural members are unfolded into an extended relation and s'aid-plate is then slid outwards alongside the web portion of said second structural member, and" lock ing means extending: through said'plate and the slot in' the wb'portion "of said first structural member, said locking} means limitingth movement of said plate from an extended to" a retracted position alongside said first structural 'nember and said locking means selectively securingsaid plate to said first structural member in ex tended and retracted positions.

a flat head on said pin disposed adjacent to said plate, and prongs exfefiding' fi'qni said hea d intd corresponding apertures in said plate so that said pin and said head may be moved to engage said prongs with one of two sets of corresponding apertures in the web portion of said first structural mernber' to selectivelv lock said plate in an extended or a'retracted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

